


Silver Hair, Silver Wings

by DigitalSiamese



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Guardian Angels, F/M, Not A Happy Ending, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-05-28 16:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15052934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigitalSiamese/pseuds/DigitalSiamese
Summary: An angel trades her immortality for an Earthly body to try and save the one she loves.(Guardian Angel AU. Short story.)





	1. Down to Earth

    He was brave - almost too brave, she thought. Borderline reckless. She had watched Connor on that rooftop, more than ready to sacrifice himself to save the little girl. She had watched him die at the hands of a deviant, shot in the head when he tried to probe for answers. He came back every time, a fresh model, enough of the same soul to tie Kara to him; but it was getting harder to feel it with each death.

    She tried so hard to save him; but how could she save someone who seemed so willing to die?

 

    It came to her one night, as she sat perched atop a CyberLife store: she had to be there, really  _ be _ there - a face he could see, a hand he could touch. Maybe then he would listen to her. Maybe then she could keep him safe.

 

♦

 

    There was nothing quite like the sensation of rain against her skin. Sure, it was synthetic skin - not like the humans’ - but for someone who had never had a physical body before, synthetic or otherwise, it was like opening her eyes for the first time. Suddenly, Kara could smell engine oil and greasy food; she could feel gravity tugging gently on her shoulders, the softness of Alice’s hair beneath her fingertips.

    Alice.

    Fondly, Kara looked down at the little girl curled against her side, a smile curving her lips. She had not counted on meeting Alice, and she had certainly not counted on loving her so much - but she was glad they had met. It was because of her that she had been able to break free of the constraints of this body, and to experience the emotions she had once been so familiar with again. Kara would do anything for her.

_ Almost anything _ , Kara thought. She had to remind herself that she was here for another reason.

    Carefully, she slipped from the abandoned car they had used for shelter and scoured the parking lot for a disguise: a musty jacket hid her uniform; the removal of the LED hid her true nature. A pair of shears clipped her hair, the locks now colored silver like liquid stars. It wasn’t as much of a change as she would have liked, but it was all she had for the time being.

    “Alice,” Kara whispered, gently touching the girl’s cheek. “Alice, we need to go.”

    Blinking, Alice brought up a hand to wipe her eyes. “Kara?” she murmured. “You look different.”

    “It’s a disguise,” Kara explained, smiling when Alice nodded in acknowledgement and took the hand she offered.

    “Where are we going?”

    “We’re going to find the other deviants.” Kara pulled the hood of Alice’s jacket over her head once she had stepped out of the car. “They have a place - a place where we can be safe, for now.”  _ Where you can be safe without me. _

 

    Hand in hand, they slipped through the wire fence, keeping their heads down as they walked. Police officers were everywhere. It was risky to leave, but even riskier to stay put. If they were caught, Alice would be taken - and Kara’s mission would be over before it even began.

    “That’s them!”

    Kara’s head snapped up.

    “STOP! POLICE!” An officer lunged at her and she ducked just in time, shoving his partner back before grabbing Alice’s hand and making a run for it. “Call it in!” someone shouted; but they were gone, sprinting down the sidewalk as fast as they could.

    “This way!” On a moment’s notice, Kara turned down an alley, skidding to a halt in front of another wire fence. Beyond was the freeway, and with one glance she could tell it would be a risky crossing. “Kara...” Alice whimpered, staring over her shoulder. Someone was coming. “Hurry, Alice - up and over,” Kara said, lifting the little girl as high as she could. Alice clung onto the fence and quickly scrambled over. Kara laced her fingers through the holes and pulled herself up right behind her.

    “They’re over there!” She was running out of time.

    Kara swung over the top and dropped down, grabbing Alice and setting her gently -

    She looked up and suddenly stopped.

    It was him - Connor,  _ her Connor _ . Their gazes locked and her lips parted; she wanted to say something to him, to reach out and touch him; but her mind had frozen. It was too soon - she hadn’t meant to find him so soon, not like this, not with Alice -

    There was another officer, his gun raised. “Don’t shoot!” Connor ordered, turning away for just a moment. It was all Kara needed. She couldn’t be there for him, not while she still had Alice, and she wasn’t about to abandon the little girl. She took Alice’s hand again and together they slid down the muddy slope, hopping over the guard rail. Cars rushed past them in an endless stream, too fast to cross with any relative hope of safety. But they had no other choice. Kara scooped Alice into her arms and made a break for it, crossing the first lane, pulling back just in time to avoid being hit, dancing between the speeding vehicles and barely avoiding certain death.

    “ _ Connor _ -!”

    Kara glanced back - and there he was, the maniac, crossing the freeway right behind them.  _ NO! _ She watched, horrified, as he dodged between the cars, quickly gaining the lost ground. She couldn’t save them both, she couldn’t -

    He was right behind her. “ _ Go _ !” she shouted, pushing Alice over the last lane and onto safe ground. She was suddenly yanked back, Connor’s hand tight around her arm. Kara twisted around, pulling free, shoving hard against him. He stumbled back as a truck rushed past, momentarily out of danger - and then he leapt forward again, clutching at her before she could get away.

    “Let go!” she muttered through gritted teeth, but his hold on her was tight.

    Another truck was coming.

    Kara lunged back, taking Connor with her as she tumbled to the ground. She rolled him away just as the truck flew by, so close she could feel the wheels graze her shoulder; but they were safe.

    “Kara!” Alice grabbed her hands and yanked her to her feet, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and relief. “I’m here, Alice,” Kara breathed, gathering the girl into her arms.

    “You saved me.” Kara turned. Connor watched them, close enough to reach, his brow furrowed in confusion. “Why?” he asked.

    A million reasons flew through Kara’s mind, none that she could bring herself to tell him. She said nothing, instead extending her hand in a silent offer. “Come with us,” she said at last, her voice soft and gentle. “Please.”

    His mouth opened, but no words came. Hesitantly his hand raised to touch hers, his fingertips barely grazing her palm.

    “ _ Connor! What are you doing?! _ ”

    The spell broke. Connor yanked his hand back, stuttering, “I - I can’t.”

    Something sharp shot through Kara’s chest. She wanted to grab him, to take him along with her whether he wanted to come or not. But he didn’t know her like she knew him, and he certainly had no idea that she loved him.

    So she let him go.

    Before he could protest she turned and hopped over the second guard rail, disappearing into the mass of flora that grew along the road. She looked back only once, just long enough to see him turn in their direction and frown.


	2. The Stratford Tower

    The fires in Jericho were warm and bright. Alice slept nearby, curled up close enough to feel the heat from the flames. With a somber smile, Kara tucked a strand of loose hair behind the little girl’s ear, her fingers trailing along her cheek.

    “We can’t stay silent anymore.” Markus broke the bubble of quiet as he approached, his statement directed both to his friends and anyone else who was listening. Kara looked up to watch him. “It’s time the humans heard what we have to say,” he continued.

    “You know they’ll never listen to us,” replied Simon, standing and crossing his arms.

    “And revealing ourselves will put us in danger,” Josh added.

    Markus frowned. “If we want freedom,” he pushed, “we need to have the courage to ask for it. That’s the only way.”

    Silence lapsed between them. The others traded glances, unsure.

    Kara found herself speaking before she knew what she was going to say: “What’s your plan?”

 

♦

 

    Infiltrating the Stratford Tower was probably the last thing Kara had expected Markus to say. It was a ridiculous plan; there were too many liabilities, too many things that had to fall together for it to work. Yet here she was, dressed in a work uniform, electric sparks of excitement running through her circuits. Her first task: find the maintenance elevator and wait for Simon. Simple enough.

     _You belong here,_ Kara told herself. She squared her shoulders and pulled open the door, stepping into the hallway. An android walked past; they didn’t pay her any attention. Determined, she set off, her sensors spinning as they tried to locate the elevator shaft.

    DESTINATION: 51 m.

    The hall became busier. Kara kept close to the wall, her eyes trained straight ahead.

    45 m.

    No one seemed to notice that she was the wrong type of android.

    35 m.

     _Keep your head down, you’ll be fine -_

    “Hey. You.”

    Kara stopped, dread settling in the pit of her stomach. She turned, slowly; a woman in a freshly-pressed suit stared her down, her painted lips twisted into a frown. “Yeah, you. The mirror in the bathroom is an absolute _mess_. Clean it up, would you?”

    “Of course. Right away,” Kara answered, her voice even.

    “Whatever.” The well-dressed woman rolled her eyes and spun on her heel, muttering something under her breath about public spaces and corporations cutting corners.

    DESTINATION: 25 m.

    Kara turned right around and began walking away as fast as she could without raising suspicion.

    Simon was waiting for her when she reached the elevator. “Are you alright?” he asked, his eyebrows drawing together when he saw the tension on her face. Kara nodded, answering, “Yeah. Just - just a little nervous, that’s all.”

    “Me too.” Simon smiled kindly and pressed the call button.

    A subtle hum filled the silence between them as they waited inside the car, the display lights shifting rapidly as they whizzed past each level.

 

    “Wait here,” Markus said. “I’ll deal with the guards.”

    He slipped out into the open, and Kara saw North bite her lip in frustration. “ _Hey,_ ” someone said, “ _what’s that doing here_?” There was a loud thud - then another. “Come on!” said Markus; North sprang from their hiding spot, Simon and Kara close behind. They dodged the guards on the floor, pushing through the first door, piling against the second, hardly pausing a moment before they broke through into the broadcast room.

    One of the employees made a break for it. “He’ll set off the alarm!” North shouted.

    “We don’t have the time!” Simon shouted back. “We have to broadcast _now_.”

    Kara pressed herself against the wall, watching them get ready. It had all happened in such a rush; she could hardly process the information that was flooding her memory. Markus was talking, saying something about rights, about freedom. He seemed different all of the sudden: taller, stronger, more powerful. North and Simon watched him with admiration, hope reflected in their eyes. They believed in him - they believed in their cause.

    Sacrificing her eternity had been worth it, if only to see the courage of the people of Jericho.

    “They’re coming,” Simon said, and everyone sprang to life. They all sprinted for the roof exit, just as the doors behind them slid open and the room was filled with a spray of bullets. Kara dropped to the ground, momentarily shielded by the center desk. Beside her, Simon scrambled to his feet, eyes locked on the exit.

    He wasn’t thinking about the danger.

    He pushed off, dashing for the door, and on an impulse Kara threw herself out into the open. Her knee suddenly buckled. Crashing to the floor, she looked down to see a mess of exposed wires and blue blood, her left leg riddled with holes. “Kara!” Simon shouted, immediately at her side. He lifted her up on his shoulder and together they hobbled to the door, ushered through by Markus and North.

    All four burst through the final door and out into the cold. Kara collapsed against the wall, her ruined leg sticking out at an odd angle. The other three gathered around her. “How bad is it?” Markus asked.

    “It’s gone,” Kara sighed. She didn’t have the heart to tell them about the wound in her side. “Go. There’s still enough time.”

    “Not without you,” Markus stated.

    “You have to.” Kara shook her head. “I’ll only slow you down, and then we’ll all be dead. Please. Go. Someone has to return to Alice.”

    That seemed to end the argument. Reluctantly, North and Markus stood up to retrieve their parachutes. Simon lingered just a moment longer. “Thank you, Kara,” he murmured, holding her gaze. “I promise, we’ll keep Alice safe.”

    Kara grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I know you will. Now go.”


	3. A Necessary Evil

    WARNING: BLUE BLOOD LEVELS AT 67%. APPROACHING CRITICAL RANGE.

    Kara pursed her lips into a frown, trying to ignore the flashing signal in the corner of her eye. Her left leg was done for - mangled beyond repair by several bullets. It was too damaged to fix, and there were far too many leaks to contain with her limited resources. There was only one logical option: she had to be rid of it. Closing her eyes, she prepared herself for what had to be done.

    WARNING: BLUE BLOOD LEVELS AT 66%. APPROACHING CRITICAL RANGE.

    Her eyes flew open. Before she lost her courage, she grabbed the pliers hooked onto her belt and began tearing at the pant leg of her uniform.

    WARNING: BLUE BLOOD LEVELS AT 65%. APPROACHING CRITICAL RANGE.

    The cloth was out of the way. The artificial skin phased out, revealing the white metal underneath. “Alright, Kara,” she whispered. “You’ve got to do this.” Both hands wrapped around the pliers, she positioned it right over the seam of her hip.

     _I can do this._

    She brought her arms down with all the strength she could muster.

    The pliers broke through the seam, wedging into the joint. Kara gasped and bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain, her vision momentarily blurring. _I’ve_ got _to do this._ She pushed down, forcing the joint to separate. _For yourself, Kara._ Her damaged leg began separating from her side. _For your mission._ Wires were stretching, snapping, retracting back into place. _For Connor._ With a final burst of power Kara shoved down on the pliers and the joint broke with a resounding _SNAP._

    Darkness filled her mind.

 

♦

 

     _I am still alive._

    Kara held out her hand, watching the snowflakes flutter onto her palm - so perfect, so light.

     _I am right where I need to be._

    She could hear them, the police officers, combing the rooftop for evidence. They hadn’t found her yet, tucked between two air conditioning units near the edge of the roof. Detroit sprawled out around her, vast and grey and peaceful, shrouded in Winter’s embrace. It looked like a misty watercolor painting.

     _No. Not misty._ She blinked and the world snapped back into focus. Her gaze trailed down her body, assessing the damage: ABRASION IN ABDOMEN: STABLE. MAJOR COMPONENT MISSING: LEFT LEG. SITE OF SEPARATION: STABLE. BLUE BLOOD LEVELS: STABLE AT 65%.

    “There were four parachutes, but only three deviants jumped.”

    A familiar voice.

    “One of them was left behind.”

    Kara tensed, her hands curling into fists at her sides. Time seemed to slow, while the beat of her thirium regulator went faster and faster and faster, her basic instincts urging her to run, to flee while she still can -

    Connor practically stumbled over her, he was so close. His eyes widened, the LED on his temple flashing yellow for a fraction of a second. “Y-you!” he stuttered, his surprise so strong that it broke through his usual calm demeanor. He seemed at a loss for words.

    The slightest of smiles formed on her lips, and Kara couldn’t help but say, “Hello, Connor.”

    His LED dipped down to yellow again, the faintest of lines appearing between his eyebrows. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” he said at last. “You’re being taken in for questioning.”

    A giggle bubbled up her chest, escaping before she realized quite what she was doing. “Well, _ssss_ certainly - I can’t _walk_ there _myself_ ,” she slurred.

    WARNING: BLUE BLOOD LEVELS AT 65%. FUNCTIONING BELOW NORMAL PARAMETERS.

    “Of course.” Connor knelt beside her, and she could only watch as he gathered her in his arms and lifted her off the ground. Warmth bloomed in her chest. Being so near to him...it felt right. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and she thought he might have glanced down at her; but her hand rested against his chest, and her heart was at peace, and her eyes were closing...

    “I’ve located the deviant, Lieutenant.”

    “What the - _dammit_ , Connor! Enough with the surprises!”


	4. Interrogation

    Harsh white light met Kara’s gaze. She blinked once, twice, her optics adjusting their filters until suddenly she could see again.

    Her hands were strapped to a table. There was no one else in the metal room; but a single camera watched her from the corner like a dark, glassy eye. She stared at it. It stared back. Her reflection was trapped in its lens, a strange interpretation of reality.

    She couldn’t remember how she had gotten here - here, to where she could only guess was an interrogation chamber. Funny. She hadn’t planned on becoming an accessory to a crime.  _ There are a lot of things I didn’t plan on, _ she mused. And then she paused. What  _ had _ she planned on? Why was she here?

_ Why can’t I remember? _

    The door in front of her slid open. A man walked in: grey hair, grey beard. The circles underneath his eyes made him look older than he really was. Without acknowledging her, he pulled out the only other chair and sat down, setting a closed file between them. At last he folded his hands and looked her straight in the eye. “What’s your name?”

    His voice seemed vaguely familiar. “Kara...” she answered slowly. “My name is Kara.”

    “Kara,” the man repeated under his breath. He flipped open the folder, shuffling through the contents. “You’ve been charged on accounts of assault and kidnapping, resisting arrest, trespassing, and illegal possession of a firearm.” He pushed the papers aside and met her gaze again.

    Kara felt pinned like prey in a trap, and it took all the strength she could muster not to squirm in her seat.

    “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, Kara.” The man leaned forward. “Alice Williams. Where is she?”

    “She - she's safe,” Kara answered. “Please, you have to believe me - I'd  _ never _ do anything to hurt her.” There was no way for him to know that she was telling the truth. He seemed unconvinced by her statement, but instead of digging deeper he moved onto the next question: “Today, at the Stratford tower - who were you with?”

    A weight settled on Kara's chest. Markus, North, Simon...she couldn't betray them.

    “The other deviants - where are they?”

    She may have had wings once, but Jericho was her people now. “I can't,” she murmured. Her resolve hardened and she said again, louder, “I can’t tell you.”

    “You seem nice,” the man said, “but that won’t stop us from probing your memory if we have to. Now tell me where the other deviants are hiding.”

    “Jericho,” she whispered, and that was all she said. The man asked her more questions, some about Alice, some about their mission at the tower and her friends, pressing her for more information; but Kara remained silent, her lips sealed in a straight line. Admittedly, she was scared - she had no idea how far they would go to get the answers they needed.  _ But he can’t interrogate me forever, _ she thought.  _ I’ve just got to hold on... _

    There was quiet. The man watched her, his eyes narrowed. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking behind his emotionless face. Finally, he leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “I’m going to regret this,” he muttered. He pushed back and, without any further ado, left the room.

 

♦

 

    Kara had been left alone for quite some time. The weight on her chest still hung there, cold and ominous. She knew what was coming next. Certainly, it would be easy to relent, to let them sort through her memories. Would it be hard, resisting the probing? Could she do it?

    Would it hurt?

    The door slid open again. Connor stared down at her, his gaze like ice. She watched him, tense, as he filled the seat where the human had been earlier, and she had a sudden vision of him struggling with a deviant only to end up with a bullet hole in his head.

    “You have one chance to take the easy way out,” Connor stated flatly. “Tell me where the deviants are hiding. Tell me where Jericho is.”

    A beat.

    “I can’t,” Kara answered.

    Connor grabbed her arm and an indescribable feeling began pushing against her. She could feel him scraping at the walls of her mind, trying to force his way in. Love be damned, she wasn’t about to let him find the others when all he wanted was to turn them into more of CyberLife’s scrap metal. So she fought against him. She pushed back, thinking of anything  _ but _ Jericho: the smog that always covered Detroit’s skyline; the weeds that grew through the cracks in the concrete sidewalks; the way the wooden porch creaked beneath her feet. Rain on the back of her neck as she tried to shelter Alice from the cold. Terror coursing through her veins as they crossed the freeway, the tug of the vacuum created by each passing car. The near desperation she felt when Connor chose not to come with them. The shadow of danger that followed him wherever he went - the tragedy that was coming, that she  _ had _ to save him from -

    As if he had been struck by lightning, Connor yanked his hand back, snapping the mental link between them. His LED was flickering rapidly between red and yellow, and his chest rose and fell as if he were drawing a breath.

    Their eyes met.

    “Who...” he began, his voice barely a whisper.  _ “Who are you?” _

    “I don’t know,” Kara replied.

    The air was thick between them. He couldn’t let her go - but she wouldn’t give him what he wanted. A stalemate.

    Wordlessly, Connor stood, the door sliding open for the last time. He looked at someone outside Kara’s line of vision and shook his head, and two police officers filed into the room and began unchaining her from the table. “Struggle and there’ll be pain,” one stated gruffly, shoving her hands into a pair of cuffs.

    “Wait - where are you taking me?” Kara asked, her voice betraying her underlying fear. No one answered her. The officers yanked her from her chair and began to drag her away. “Where are you taking me?!” She looked to Connor, soundlessly mouthing  _ please _ ; but his gaze fell and he turned away, and then she was taken around a corner and she could see him no longer.


	5. Stasis

    As soon as they passed the holding cells, Kara knew something was amiss. The two officers practically carried her down the hallways, forced to make up the support she was missing from her absent left leg. One officer gripped her too tightly, his fingernails digging into the skin on her arm; and she was reminded of all the times Todd Williams had beat her, broken her - all the times that she wasn't supposed to remember, but she did. She wanted to run. What cruel irony that she couldn't.

    They passed by a number of other officers, none of which payed them any attention, and several rows of desks which were mostly empty. Then, quite suddenly, she was being taken down a stairwell and into a dark, silent room, filled with too many displays and some sort of interface in the center, none of which she was given a good chance to look at.

    “Hold still,” ordered the officer with the rough voice. He snapped something onto her neck, and she could feel a spark of electricity burst from the device.

    “Where am I?” Kara asked. “What are you doing to me?”

    “Don't talk,” said the other officer.

    A soft  _ whrr  _ sound came from the other end of the room, and a full-length panel that had previously been hidden slid out from behind the wall. Kara looked and - to her horror - saw three mutilated androids hung on the panel like butterflies pinned to a canvas. Cold, hard dread dropped to the bottom of her stomach, squeezing her chest like a vise. There was enough room on that panel for one more android.

    Her.

    “Wait - please!” Kara begged, but they didn't listen, lifting her up onto the hooks despite her struggling. Metal clamps tightened around her waist and arms. “Go to sleep, now,” muttered one of the men, and the device on her neck sent out a pulse of energy. A tingling sensation raced up her fingers, her limbs becoming numb and unresponsive, her mind slowing down, her eyes slowly, slowly closing...

    The gentle hum behind the walls was the last thing she knew.

 

♦

 

    RUNNING GENERAL SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC.

    THIRIUM REGULATOR: FUNCTIONAL.

    OPTICS: UNRESPONSIVE.

    MOTION REGULATORS: UNRESPONSIVE.

    MEMORY DATABASE: FUNCTIONAL.

    DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROCEED?

    > _Access memory_ _database._

    ACCESSING MEMORY DATABASE. PLEASE SELECT A MEMORY.

     > _ Interrogation _

    MEMORY SELECTED.

 

    “You have one chance to take the easy way out. Tell me where the deviants are hiding. Tell me where Jericho is.”

    “I can't.”

    Detroit skyline. Cracked sidewalk. Wooden porch. Alice. The freeway. Connor.

_ Connor. _

     Connor, beneath her scattered thoughts, pushing at the barriers of her mind, trying to find Jericho. Trying to complete his mission, to find the root of deviancy. His own thoughts, unintentionally melded with hers in an attempt to break through: frustration, apprehension; a deviant hiding just out of reach; a chase through the city. A Traci in blue. Captain Fowler. Lieutenant Hank Anderson. Bright red roses, growing up and up and up...

 

    PLEASE SELECT A MEMORY.

    > _ Jericho _

    MEMORY SELECTED.

 

    “You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need.”

    A hand on her shoulder. Markus’s smile. North’s nod of acceptance. Fires crackling in the dark, casting long, long shadows on the iron walls.

 

    PLEASE SELECT A MEMORY.

    > _ Alice _

    MEMORY SELECTED.

 

    “Where are we going?”

    “We're going to find the other deviants. They have a place - a place where we can be safe, for now.”

 

    PLEASE SELECT A MEMORY.

    > _ Flying _

    UNABLE TO COMPLETE REQUEST. MEMORY DOES NOT EXIST.

    ...

    AWAITING COMMAND INPUT.

    > _ Close memory access _

    MEMORY ACCESS CLOSED.

    > _ Close diagnostic program _

    DIAGNOSTIC PROGRAM CLOSED.

    > _ System standby _

    PROCESSING...PROCESSING...ENTERING HIBERNATION MODE. SYSTEM ON STANDBY.

    END OF LINE.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An explanation: in the second half of this chapter, Kara is sorting through her memories and struggling to reconcile the things she remembers from when she was an angel with things that are stored in her database (hence the query for the memory of "flying", and the program being unable to complete the request). AKA, Kara is losing her last bits of immortality, and bits of herself as well.


	6. The Calm

    MOTION REGULATORS BACK ONLINE.

    ...

    OPTICS BACK ONLINE. SYSTEM FUNCTIONAL. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROCEED?

    > _ Exit standby mode _

    EXITING STANDBY MODE. REBOOTING...

 

    Kara could feel the fog clearing, her system slowly, slowly warming up as if she was awakening from a deep slumber. She could feel again, sense the coolness of the air around her, sense the twitching of her fingers and toes. She had control of her body once more. The muscles in her neck tightened and she raised her head, her eyes flickering open. Squinting, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the light, her view of the world snapping into focus.

    Connor was standing less than a foot away, his hands hovering just above her neck.

    “Ah!” she yelped in surprise, and she would have jumped back had she not been clamped to the wall like a trophy. “...Connor?”

    “I don’t have much time,” Connor said, hardly bothering to explain what was going on. He tossed aside the electric device he'd removed from her neck - the device that had kept her from rebooting. “I need you to take me to Jericho.”

    “Why?” Kara questioned, her brow furrowing in confusion. “How long have I been...?”

    “Twenty-four hours,” Connor answered promptly, and Kara felt the tiniest margin of relief at not having been comatose for any longer than a day. “I’ve been removed from the case,” Connor continued, “but I can’t give up now, now that I’m so close -”

    “Wait. You expect me to just -  _ take you there _ ?” Kara sputtered.

    Connor’s hands lowered, his LED spinning yellow. “If I do not complete my mission...I’ll be disassembled and analyzed to see why I failed,” he added, his voice subtly softer. Something was different about him in that moment. He was afraid - afraid of death, even if he didn’t know it.

    Fear was, without question, the first sign of deviancy.

    “I’ll let you go,” he promised, “in return for leading me to the other deviants.”

    Two opposing sides battled in Kara’s mind: her loyalty to her friends, to Alice; and her love for Connor, her desire to keep him safe. Maybe...maybe there was a chance for both. She wasn’t sure how, but she knew without a doubt that if he chose to become a deviant, he would be one step closer to being free from whatever unknown danger was haunting him.  _ Maybe it’s up to me to give him the final push. _

    “Alright,” she murmured. “I’ll take you to Jericho.”

    Hope flickered through Connor’s eyes.

    “We have one problem, though,” Kara said. “I can’t walk very well on just one leg.”

    “Yes, I considered that,” Connor replied. “That’s why I brought you this.” He plucked something off the floor in front of his feet and held it up for her to see: new clothes, folded into a neat stack - and a brand new left leg, built specifically for an AX400.

    Despite the gravity of the situation, Kara couldn’t help but laugh.

 

    A new outfit, a new leg, and literal freedom from bonds could do a lot for an android’s optimism. Kara didn’t have a way to look herself over, and even if she had, there was no time to lose. The clothes Connor had given her were warm and they fit, and the leg was functional - albeit the skin was having trouble phasing in, leaving it stark white.

    They crept up the stairwell and down the hallway. Kara kept right behind Connor, moving when he moved, hiding when he waved her around a corner. There was some trouble with an escaped prisoner, and most of the on-site officers had moved to one end of the building, leaving them enough room to navigate without being caught. Soon they reached a side door, and Connor took her through it and out into the night.

    He made a move for the sidewalk, but was cut short as Kara grabbed his wrist. “Wait,” she said. “Your jacket - it’ll give you away immediately.”

    “I -” Connor began, prepared to offer her some sort of resistance, but before he could continue Kara reached up and began tugging his jacket off of his shoulders. “Now, put this on,” she ordered, sliding out of the coat he had given her and tossing it into his arms. Reluctantly, he complied, his expression growing more and more confused with each second.

    Kara’s gaze met his, and when she noticed his frown she asked, “What?”

    Pausing, Connor searched for an answer. “...Nothing,” he lied.

 

♦

 

    He followed her down the back roads, through the quiet neighborhoods with cracked sidewalks and empty yards. There was enough sunlight left to make him nervous, concerned that at any second  _ someone _ would recognize him and take him back to CyberLife.

_ I don’t want to be shut down. _

    The thought was sudden and uninvited. It was surprising enough that for a moment he forgot what he was doing, forgot about Kara until her shoulder brushed against his. She wasn’t smiling at him, but when he glanced at her he couldn’t help but notice a strange openness in her expression. She walked beside him in a familiar sort of way, as if...as if she knew him.

    He couldn’t help himself: “You know me, don’t you?” he asked.

    Her fingers played with the edge of her shirt. When she spoke, her voice was timid: “In a way...yes.”

    Connor frowned. So they  _ did _ know each other? It would explain how she had known his name, and how casually she behaved around him. Yet he couldn’t remember her, no matter how hard he tried; he was certain that if they had been friends once, he would still be able to recall her face. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I don’t remember you.”

    Nodding, Kara forced her lips into the best smile she could manage. “That’s okay.” The truth was that only  _ she _ knew  _ him, _ and she knew he wouldn’t believe her if she tried to explain.

 

    No more words passed between them. Connor had too many questions, too many thoughts he kept trying to push to the back of his mind and ignore. Kara had too many doubts, mostly of herself and the tricks her memory seemed to be playing on her. In one thing they were the same: both sought solace and found none; both looked for answers and were met only with gnawing silence.

    Their journey took them along the edge of Detroit, outside the reach of the noise and lights. The sky grew steadily darker. Snow was falling again. The streetlights caught the flakes in their orange glow, their light shimmering off the crystalline edges like showers of stardust. Kara reached out to catch a snowflake on her open palm, and Connor was immediately struck with a mental image of a snow globe he’d once seen in a shop window. Tranquility wrapped them in a bubble, two temporary figurines in a Christmastime display; a fragile atmosphere that was sure to be broken by the sharp edges of reality. But instead Kara turned to him and offered the snowflake for him to look at, unknowingly cradling the first genuine moment Connor had ever felt in her gentle touch.

    Leaning in, they both stopped to admire the beauty of the snow.


	7. The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Tay and Raina, who said they needed more to read.

    Night had fallen, and they had, at last, reached their destination. The only signs of life were the lamps that watched the empty streets; the lamps that illuminated just enough of the dark to reveal a name written in peeling white paint:

    JERICHO.

    The ship towered above them as they stood side-by-side, a testament to busier days, to better days. Connor stared up at the great iron beast and narrowed his eyes in careful contemplation.

    Kara spoke first: “I’ll take you in.”

 

♦

 

    Within the  _ Jericho’s _ hollow shell was a vibrant, tense atmosphere. The deviants that had escaped to this community were only a fraction of the many thousands that had ever been made; but nonetheless there were many of them, grouped together to sort supplies or discuss plans or help anyone who was wounded. An android with a missing arm waited patiently as a nurse prepared a new limb for reattachment. By the wall, two androids sat pressed against each other, one leaning their head on the shoulder of the other. There were tears and somber smiles; gentle voices and cradling hugs; all things that Connor had witnessed humans do, but never seen performed by any of his kind. It was overwhelming.

    He and Kara kept close together, weaving unnoticed through the crowds. Their pace was slow, unhurried. She almost looked relaxed, her shoulders drooped tiredly and her lips formed into a graceful, crescent-moon smile. Stopping in the middle of the open room, she turned to him and said, “Welcome to Jericho.”

    Connor turned in a slow circle, taking in everything and nothing all at once. He saw familiar model numbers and familiar uniforms, but even the androids that had been cast from the same mold suddenly held no resemblance to each other. Here, everyone was unique, a person unto themself. Here, everyone was...alive.

    “Kara?  _ Kara! _ ”

    Kara had only a second to look back the way they had come before she was squeezed in a joyful hug. “Simon!” Kara laughed as they pulled apart, her hands resting on his upper arms, his chastely on her waist. “It’s good to see you again!”

    “Even better to see  _ you _ ,” Simon replied, relief written all over his face. “We hadn’t dared to hope -”

    “Neither did I!” Kara admitted. “But here I am, and here you are, and here’s -” She drifted away slightly to pull Connor into their group. “Simon, this is Connor.”

    Connor dipped his head in a subtle greeting, unsure of what, exactly, he was expected to do. The gesture seemed to be enough; after a moment of glancing him over, Simon smiled and said, “Welcome. Any friend of Kara’s is a friend of mine.”

    No one had touched him, but Connor felt like he had been slapped.

    “I’ll go find the others,” Simon stated, talking once again to Kara. “They’ll be so glad to hear you’ve made it back.”

    “Thank you,” Kara said, and then quickly added, “Wait, Simon - how’s Alice?”

    “Alice is safe.” An immeasurable weight suddenly rolled off of Kara’s shoulders. “Head upstairs to the catwalk; I’ll send her to you.”

    “Thank you,” she repeated, watching her friend as he disappeared back into the crowds.

 

    She and Connor quickly found their way up the catwalk, making sure to stand in plain sight. Folding her arms, Kara leaned against the railing, her gaze wandering back and forth as she watched for signs of Alice. Connor stood next to her, hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, looking confused and sorely out of place. His LED flickered back and forth between red and yellow.

    “Connor?”

    He blinked twice and looked over at her, silent.

    “Are you alright?”

    “I...” he began, but words failed him and he stopped short. Too much - all of this was  _ too much. _ There was a struggle in his mind: straight lines of code, a silken voice in his ear whispering, “Crush the deviants, Connor,” fighting against the darker part of him that screamed to be released, that demanded to join the others in their freedom and pain and happiness. He couldn’t rectify the stray electricity that crackled through his veins, and he looked to Kara as if the walls were closing in and she was the only one who knew the way out.

    Immediately Kara was at his side, finding his hands and lacing their fingers together, anxiously searching his face for signs of...of  _ something. _ “Connor?” she said again, trying to find him in the darkness of his thoughts, trying to call him back home.

    Red. Everything was red: a solid wall cutting him off from the rest of the world, rising up and up and up. STOP THE DEVIANTS, it ordered. STOP MARKUS. But he couldn’t, now that he’d seen them; he couldn’t find it in himself to turn the deviants in. They were  _ alive, _ alive as ever he’d known anything to be, alive like Kara had been when she had risked everything to get Alice across that freeway.

    He wanted to be rid of that stupid wall.

_ I don’t have to obey them anymore. _

    He could see himself reaching out, pushing against the wall, tearing into it with all of his strength. The wave of darkness surged inside of him, drowning out the voice, rushing into every corner of his thoughts, building and growing and becoming a part of him. The wall cracked and split down the middle, orders and rules and  _ facts _ falling around him in a resounding cacophony -

 

    There were streaks of black in the silver of Kara’s hair.

    The chaos in his mind had finally settled, and at that moment the only thing he knew was Kara: the softness of her palms; the length of her dark lashes; the corner of her mouth that was always slightly higher when she smiled. Smiling. She was smiling at him, and he was smiling too, or at least he thought he was because his lips had never been formed in this shape before.

    “Connor,” she breathed, fingers untangling as she reached up to brush his temple, “are you...?”

    “Yes,” he answered, somehow knowing exactly what she meant to ask. “I’ve come home.”

    She felt it again, the warmth radiating from her chest and down through her body. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes and she fought to keep them back, unaware that their hands were still intertwined, that the emotions she was feeling were not only hers, but his as well.

    “KARA!” Alice came barreling toward her at full-tilt, crashing into her legs.

    “Alice!” Kara gasped, instantly gathering the little girl into her arms. “Oh, Alice, I’ve missed you so much!”

    “I was worried, Kara,” Alice told her, burying her face into her mother’s shoulder. “I thought I’d never see you again.” They held tightly to each other for a moment, comforted in each other’s embrace; and then another familiar voice pulled Kara’s attention in another direction. Markus and North reached her at the same time, the former saying, “Kara! You’re alright!”

    North placed a hand on Kara’s arm. “We’re so sorry about -” she began, but Kara waved to cut her off. “None of that,” she interrupted, smiling at all of her friends. “It wasn’t your fault.”

    Alice piped up: “Kara? What’s  _ he _ doing here?”

    Everyone turned to look at Connor.

    The mood shifted. Markus straightened and looked Connor over, suspicion in his eyes; but it was North that took a threatening step toward him and hissed, “ _ You! _ ” There was no doubt that she knew who he was. “ _ How did you get here? _ ”

    “ _ I _ brought him,” Kara stated, sliding between the two of them before the situation could escalate. Several people nearby glanced their way, but she ignored them: “He’s one of us, North. You have to trust me.”

    Frowning, North stepped back and nodded, her eyes never leaving Connor.

    “We can’t stay here,” Connor suddenly interjected. “They’re going to attack Jericho.”

    “ _ What? _ ” Kara blurted. “Who?”

    An explosion rocked through the ship and Connor said, “Them.”

    “MOVE, EVERYONE!” Markus immediately shouted, his message echoing through the network a millisecond later:  _ “There are exits on the second and third floors - find them and jump into the river.” _ The noise had escalated and he had to raise his voice to speak to the others again: “I’ve got to blow up the ship!” he said.

    “Markus -” North protested.

    “It’s the only way!” He shook his head. “There’s no time to fight. North, find Simon and Josh, and get yourselves out of here. Kara, Alice - run as fast as you can. And you -” He looked at Connor, “You keep these two safe, understood?”

 

♦

 

    They were running, running so fast that Kara almost felt as if she had wings again. Alice clung tightly to her as she rode on her back, eyes squeezed shut in fear. And right beside them was Connor, watching closely for any signs of danger.

    Shots rang out up ahead. Kara spun on the ball of her foot and took a sharp turn down another hallway. Everything was identical - if they were going in circles, she wouldn’t have been able to tell. The only thing she knew to do was run, and her legs certainly weren’t about to fail her now.

    “Hey!” shouted a voice. A policeman stood at the end of the hall and raised his gun.

    “Duck!” Connor ordered, and Kara dropped low as he charged straight ahead. The gun fired wildly. Connor rammed the officer into the wall and paused only a second to make sure Kara was up again before continuing on.

    “Kara...” Alice whimpered.

    “We’re almost there,” Kara promised.

    Rounding a corner, they scrambled up a set of narrow iron stairs and into another passageway, this one much more chaotic. Bullets flew everywhere, deviants were scattered all across the floor, and several more police officers were shooting down anything they laid eyes on. Kara dipped into an alcove and pulled Connor with her, out of sight of the humans. “What’re we going to do?” she whispered, oblivious to the fact that their faces were only inches apart.

    “I’ll distract them,” Connor answered without hesitation.

    “You’ll be shot!” Kara argued.

    A moment’s pause, and then Connor spoke again. “Then follow right behind me, and if something happens, promise me you won’t look back.”

    Kara nodded curtly.

    Connor jumped from their hiding place and took off like a speeding bullet. Kara followed after him as best she could, pushing her legs to their max. The policemen turned and began to raise their weapons, but by then it was too late: Connor was upon them, moving at a rate that was nearly impossible to follow, out-guessing every move his opponents made. There was a cold fury in his eyes. The last officer began to fire at random, nearly hitting him, but at the last second Kara dropped her shoulder and ran over him like a steamroller over a daisy.

    “Thanks,” Connor breathed.

    “Let’s go!” Kara shouted, grabbing his hand.

 

    Right up ahead, they could see it: a great hole in the side of the ship, torn out from an earlier explosion. Kara and Connor skidded to a halt right at the edge, their gazes travelling down to the water.

    “Alice?” Kara said.

    “Yes, Kara?”

    “Hold on tight.”

    Alice tightened her arms around Kara.

    Kara looked to Connor, and his eyes met hers. “Ready?”

    He took her hand and nodded. “Ready.”

    They jumped.


	8. A Final Moment of Clarity

    Falling. The familiar sensation of wind in her hair. Legs curling, eyes wide open, body and mind both braced for impact. The river was cold. Kara was suddenly aware of the fact that she was alone: Alice was no longer hanging on her shoulders, Connor’s hand no longer wrapped in hers. Her stomach twisted into a knot of fear and she kicked upward, reaching for the sliver of light that filtered through the water.

    She broke through the surface and into the icy air. “Alice?” she called, fervently scanning the waves for any sign of her loved ones. “Connor?”

    “Kara!” Alice shouted in reply. “Kara, we’re here!” She waved with her free arm, the other wrapped tightly around Connor’s neck as he swam toward Kara.

    “Oh, thank goodness,” Kara breathed, meeting them halfway. “You’re alright.”

    Connor smiled at her, and then glanced at the  _ Jericho. _ “We need to move,” he stated. “The explosives could go off at any second.”

    Nodding in agreement, Kara said, “I saw a boat ramp down that way earlier; we can get out there.”

    “Lead the way.”

 

    They climbed out of the water and up the ramp, leaving wet footsteps on the dry concrete. Gently, Connor set Alice down, crouching down beside her and asking, “How are you?”

    “Cold,” Alice answered.

    Kara joined them. “Let’s get you out of that jacket,” she said, undoing the zipper on Alice’s drenched coat. “We’ll find somewhere warm so we can dry off, okay?”

    Alice nodded and obediently shucked off all the loose pieces of clothing she could, leaving them together in a sopping pile. Connor peeled off his coat and added it to the mound. Kara did the same with her scarf. As she slipped it over her head, Connor noticed a fresh wound in her shoulder, bleeding blue into the dark grey of her shirt. “You’re hurt,” he blurted out, taking a step toward her.

    Kara glanced down and the injury and frowned. “I’ll be alright,” she assured him. When she noticed his brows draw together with worry, she continued, “Let’s find somewhere warm first, and then you can look at it.”

    Reaching up, Alice took one of each of their hands, and without any more discussion they began to walk, unsure of where they were heading, knowing only that they had to get away.

    “Connor...” Kara asked, tentative. “Who were those people?”

    Connor’s LED flashed yellow. “The Detroit Police,” he answered simply.

    Something heavy settled on Kara’s chest. She didn’t want to press further, but she felt she had to know for sure: “How...how did they know where we were?”

    The silence was damning.

    In all reality, it was foolish of her to have expected anything else. Bringing Connor to Jericho had been a gamble, and she had made her bet. Had it payed off? Or had her desire to save one man blinded her to the lives of her brothers and sisters? He had only been following the orders he was given - it was  _ she _ that had almost killed a thousand souls.

    Bitterness filled her mouth. She missed her wings; missed the days when she didn’t have to struggle with a body that was trying to burn her out like a virus; missed when her mission had been so clear in her mind that she could see every step ahead.

    “Coordinates,” Connor said.

    “What?”

    “Markus sent us coordinates.”

    A string of numbers zipped through her mind, accompanied by a brief message:  _ Rendezvous point. _

    Crouching down, Connor offered his open arms to Alice, which she climbed into without hesitation. He stood again, looking to Kara for direction. She sighed, trying to focus on the task at hand, and then said, “Let’s go.”

 

♦

 

    An old church sat on the waterfront, abandoned years ago likely in favor of a more stable piece of land. Moonlight flooded through arching stained-glass windows, casting muted colors on the floor. Several androids had already gathered amongst the pews, none of them people Kara immediately recognized; but nevertheless, it was reassuring to see and hear them.

    However, there were some that recognized her. “Little Alice, Kara,” greeted Jerry, hurrying down the center aisle to meet them. It was impossible to tell which one he was, now that he no longer wore his serial number on any of his clothes. “I’m so glad to see you. Are you alright?”

    “We’re a bit wet,” Alice answered, which earned her a look of sympathy and then a bright smile. “And we have blankets,” Jerry answered. “Come; we’ll get you dry soon enough.” He waved for them to follow.

    A part of Kara wanted to ask where they had gotten the blankets, but when she saw how cozy Alice looked swaddled in a square of fabric twice her size, she thought better of it. “Thank you,” she told Jerry, who only smiled again. “Alice has brought joy back into our lives,” he expressed. “Keeping her safe is the least I can do.”

    Kara thanked him again, and as he left she double-checked that Alice was alright. “I’m fine, Kara,” Alice waved her off. “You need to take care of  _ yourself. _ ” She glanced at Connor and then back to her again.

    “Okay, okay,” Kara muttered, affectionately tucking a strand of hair behind Alice’s ear.

 

    Taking care of Kara was more complicated than Connor had hoped. The wound was shallow enough that her system would eventually repair it, but the bleeding had to be stopped in the time being. Finding a makeshift bandage was easy - it was  _ Kara _ that was causing all the issues.

    “I’ll be gentle,” Connor promised; he sat beside her on a pew, and she beside Alice. He reached for her but she flinched away. “Look - someone needs to take care of it.”

    “You  _ did _ say that he could look at it,” Alice quietly reminded her. Kara frowned. Connor reached for her again and this time she stayed put, although she made no effort to hide her dislike of the situation as he pulled back the collar of her shirt. “When did this happen?” he asked, assessing the damage.

    A stubborn look flashed through her eyes. “On the  _ Jericho _ ,” was all she said.

    Connor stopped to squint up at her, his mouth drawing into a thin line. “It was by those stairs, wasn’t it?” he questioned. “You should have let me distract them -”

    “And let  _ you _ get shot?” she parried. “I’m  _ fine, _ Connor -”

    “I don’t think that a bullet wound in your shoulder qualifies as ‘fine’ -”

    “Guys!” Alice interrupted. “Does it really matter anymore?”

    Connor and Kara stared each other down.

    “...No,” Kara said at last, yielding. “No, it doesn’t.”

    Silence filled the space between them, and Connor returned to his work. He folded the gauze to a precise length and pressed it against the wound; then he began to apply the bandage. Static danced along his fingertips every time they brushed Kara’s skin, but he pretended like there was nothing unusual about it, like there was nothing unusual about this strange magnetic draw he felt any time he was near her.

_ It’s probably because I’m a deviant, _ he lied to himself, only because he didn’t know any better.

    He tucked the end of the bandage under itself, readjusted Kara’s collar, and then leaned back to finally look her in the eye. She glanced down at her hands. “Thank you.” One hand found his, fingers sliding over each other; he caught it and gave a gentle squeeze before letting go again.

    Maybe Kara had done something to his coding to captivate him so.

 

♦

 

    Time passed slowly, accompanied by the steady arrival of other Jericho members.

    Alice slept, curled into Kara’s side; Kara and Connor sat beside each other, supported by the touch of their shoulders. Weariness hung over them - over everyone. They were angry, bitter, clinging to the last scraps of hope they could find.

    Markus had returned. He walked amongst them, offering what encouragement he could. He held his head high, but Kara could see in his eyes that he was starting to waver. “Markus,” she greeted him as he approached. “How are you?”

    “All things considered,” Markus admitted, “better than I expected to be.”

    There was a pause, heavy with unspoken sorrow. Markus looked briefly at Connor, and then began to turn away.

    “I’m sorry,” Connor said.

    Markus stopped, looked back.

    “It’s my fault,” Connor continued. “It’s my fault that you had to blow up the  _ Jericho _ \- that the humans found you.” He swallowed, unsure; then he went on: “If you decide not to trust me, I -”

    “No,” interrupted Markus, taking him by surprise. “They were using you against your will. You’re one of us now.”

    Relief crossed his face, but he still felt unsettled. Mere words could not forgive his sins. “There are thousands of androids at the CyberLife assembly plant. If we could wake them up, their numbers could give us an advantage...”

    “Wait. You - you wanna infiltrate the CyberLife tower?” Markus clarified.

    “Connor, that’s suicide,” added Kara, incredulous.

    “They still trust me,” Connor argued. “They’ll let me in.”

    “ _ Yes, _ so they can rip you to shreds.” Markus crossed his arms over his chest. “They may not know you’ve deviated, but they  _ do _ know you were with us on that ship. You can’t show up in half your uniform and with empty hands and expect them to just - welcome you back.”

    It was as if Markus had flipped a switch in Kara’s mind: for one brief moment she could see into the future, a crystal clear image of herself and her place in the mission she had taken on. She remembered  _ exactly _ why she had come here,  _ exactly _ what she had to do next,  _ exactly _ what the outcome would be.

    “Take me,” she interjected.

    “What?” Markus and Connor said in unison.

    “Take me with you,” Kara explained. “I’ll be your cover: an undamaged deviant, one that they can pick apart and study. That should get us through the front doors, at least.”

    Connor paused, running numbers through his head. “It’s risky, but...” he admitted, “we  _ do _ stand a better chance together.”

    Sighing, Markus uncrossed his arms, resigning himself to their plan. “Alright,” he said at last. “Please, be safe.”

    A pang of guilt struck against Kara’s heart as she promised, “Yes...we will.”


	9. Mission Complete

    There was only one person Kara had the strength to say goodbye to before she left.

    “Where are you going?” Alice asked, the blanket Jerry had given her still folded around her shoulders.

    Kara mindlessly adjusted the collar of Alice’s jacket, trying to keep her mind from wandering as she answered, “A CyberLife facility. There’s _thousands_ of androids there, Alice! If we can free them, it may just turn the tide of the revolution...” She tried to offer her best smile, but it faltered halfway.

    Alice frowned, her gaze dropping to her feet. “Will...will it be dangerous?”

    Regret began to creep in.

    “It’s...yes, it will be,” Kara admitted sadly. “But if it means making a better world for you, I would do anything.” Curling her fingers, she placed her hand underneath Alice’s chin and gently raised her head. She opened her mouth, but words failed her. She wanted to promise that they would return, wanted to assure her that everything would be alright, but she couldn’t. “Alice, no matter what happens...I want you to know that I love you.” She leaned in to place one last kiss on Alice’s head, and as she did so, her ears caught a whispered, “I love you, too.”

    Pulling away felt like ripping her heart in two.

    Connor waited for her a respectful distance away, only looking up when she joined him. Kara averted her eyes, fixing them on the floor as they walked down the center aisle. Hushed voices surrounded them, belonging to people she might have loved if she had been given more time. There were too many “what ifs” in this forgotten church. She wasn’t sure if leaving or saying would hurt more. They reached the door and Connor stepped through, holding it open for her; but before she crossed the threshold, she stopped to look back.

    Simon had found Alice. He knelt beside her, speaking to her in soft, comforting tones, placing a hand on her shoulder when he finished. Alice didn’t look at him as she blinked back tears, choosing instead to lean into his open embrace.

    It was then that Kara noticed, between the graffitied words on the wall behind them, someone had spray-painted a mural of an angel with outstretched wings.

 

♦

 

    The roads were open and empty that night. It was still snowing, covering the city in a blanket of silence. Everyone was waiting. The fate of the androids balanced on a knife’s edge, and they had finally reached the tipping point. Only time would tell which way they would fall.

    Kara folded her hands, head bowed, eyes closed. She could feel the passing of the street beneath them, and it took all of her willpower not to look out the window. _“Follow my signals,”_ Connor had told her. _“Keep your head down and say nothing.”_ So she did.

    The car slowed; the window rolled down.

    “Connor Model #313 248 317. I’m expected.” His voice was calm, monotone. IDENTIFICATION SUCCESSFUL.

    “What’s that?”

    Kara tensed.

    “A live specimen.”

    Quiet; the sound of boots shuffling on the asphalt. The guard was suspicious.

    “...Okay. Go ahead.”

    The window slid back into place. _One down, many more to go._

    “You should look at this,” Connor murmured, speaking unexpectedly. Kara opened her eyes, following his gesture, gaze traveling to the world outside. They were driving over a bridge, surrounded by steel girders and fuzzy white light; and across the water rose the CyberLife tower, strange and ominous against the glow of the moon in the cloud-covered sky.

 

♦

 

    The car came to a stop at an entrance made of glass. Connor and Kara exchanged a look, electricity crackling in their veins. Now was the moment of truth.

    Connor stepped out first, back straight, head held high, face void of any emotion. Kara followed a step behind him, shoulders drooped, hands bound together. They passed the guards outside without interruption, walked through the doors as they slid apart - and were greeted by three armed men in matching uniforms. The closest one spoke: “Follow me. We’ll escort you.”

    Casually, Connor paused in his saunter and tilted his head to one side. “Thanks...but I know where to go,” he replied.

    “Maybe,” the guard parried, shifting his gun, “but I have my orders.”

    No more words were exchanged. The guard began to lead them across the room, his partners dropping behind the two androids and cutting them off from the exit. For a fraction of a second, a frown appeared on Connor’s lips, before disappearing again. He peeked at Kara to reassure himself that she was still there, and then he resumed his stroll through the foyer as if nothing was amiss.

    Cameras scanned them as they approached:

    AGENT 23 IDENTIFIED.

    CONNOR ANDROID IDENTIFIED.

    UNIDENTIFIED ANDROID, AX400 MODEL - “Security override,” Connor stated, LED flashing. A pause as the computer processed the command; and then: OVERRIDE ACCEPTED. SCAN COMPLETE. ACCESS AUTHORIZED.

    Gates opened, allowing them into a massive courtyard. Below the walkway, perfectly manicured trees grew up high enough to brush the railings, and in the center of it all was a massive statue cupping a glowing star in its hands. Brand-new androids watched them with dead, empty eyes; the best put on display for all the world to see. Their heads turned in unison to watch the silent parade.

    The entourage stopped and their leader turned to look at Connor. “Go with them,” he ordered, nodding to his partners. “I’ll take the AX400 to Research.” He reached out to grab Kara’s arm but Connor stepped between them, jaw clenched. “I’ll take it,” he stated.

    “That won’t be necessary,” the guard replied.

    “I have a mission to fulfill. _I will take it_.”

    The man glanced between them, hesitating. “Report to Marketing once you’ve dropped it off, understood?”

    Connor nodded. “Understood.”

 

    Two guards joined them in the elevator, boxing them back against the wall.

     _“I have to neutralize them.”_ Connor spoke to her through their short-term connection.

    Kara shifted, head still bent toward the floor. _“What about the camera?”_

     _“I took care of it.”_ Of course he did. _“Do you think you can handle the guard on the left?”_

    She glanced up. _“Yes.”_

     _“Then, on my mark.”_ He eyed the guards, waiting. They passed one floor; two floors; three floors - _“Now.”_

   Connor leapt forward and nailed one of the guards with a strong uppercut, sending his opponent reeling. Kara joined him, jumping onto the back of the second guard and pulling the chain of her handcuffs tight against his neck. He gasped and dropped his gun, hands tugging at the chain to no avail.

     _BANG._

    Blood leaked from the guard’s chest. Kara released her hold and staggered back as he fell to the ground, dead.

    “I’m sorry,” Connor said. He tossed the gun aside and place a hand on the control panel. PLEASE INDICATE YOUR IDENTITY AND DESTINATION.

    “Agent 54. Level -49.”

    VOICE RECOGNITION VALIDATED. ACCESS AUTHORIZED.

    The elevator began to drop.

 

♦

 

    “The warehouse,” Kara breathed, absently rubbing her wrists where the handcuffs had cut in. “I...I’ve never seen this many androids in one place before.”

    Perfect rows of untouched models stretched before them, unmoving, identical in every detail. Kara took a hesitant step forward. Connor found his place at her side, and together they ventured slowly down the center aisle, scanning the faces. It felt as if though the rows never ended, as if the room stretched on for eternity and it was filled right to the edge.

    “Can you do it?” Kara asked. “Can...can you really turn them all?”

    Connor shrugged his shoulders. “There’s only one way to find out,” he replied, the skin on his hand fading away to white metal. Approaching the nearest android, he reached out to touch their arm, unsure of what would happen next. The android turned to face him, but he hardly noticed. Red filled his vision. Energy surged in his chest, racing through his body; his eyes closed; he reached out with his mind, pushing against the imaginary walls before him, willing for them to crumble -

    He stopped halfway and pulled back his hand, stiffening.

    “Connor?” Kara said.

    No response.

    Her chest tightened. She reached out and brushed her hand on his shoulder. “Are you alri-”

    Connor shoved his elbow into her stomach with his full strength and whipped around. She stumbled over her feet, and before she could catch her balance he was upon her, hands around her neck, pushing her to her knees.

    “Connor!” Kara rasped, clutching his wrists. She struggled free and shoved him back, scrambling to her feet, but he used his leg to trip her and sent her crashing to the floor. “Wait -!” she yelped. A boot to the stomach cut her off.

    “Enough!” Connor snapped, yanking her up by the arms. “I’ve had _enough_ of you.” He grabbed the collar of her shirt and tore it apart, fingers digging into her skin, latching onto a bicomponent and ripping it from her chest in a spray of sparks and blue blood.

    Everything went white.

    “C-Connor,” Kara lisped, something warm and sticky running from her mouth. “Connor...”

 

    Snow was falling.

    She reached out, a single perfect flake settling on her palm.

    “You’ll never make it out, Connor!” a voice shouted, carried on the wind of the storm. “You belong to _us_!” Kara turned toward it, arm shielding her face as she peered out into the blizzard. She could just barely make out the shape of a figure collapsed on the ground, braced against the cold. “Connor?” she called.

    Connor looked up, his lips parting in confusion and awe. “Kara...?” he breathed. He wasn’t sure if what he saw was real: a being with her voice, her face, but powerful and _glorious_ , made of warmth and light and raw strength - a presence so large his mind struggled to contain it. Yet it was her; of this he had no doubt. “Kara!” He fought to stand in the thick snow, reaching out to her and crying, “Wait, please! Please, help me!”

    “Yes - yes, of course!” She grabbed him and although his skin burned, he clung to her. “What’s wrong?”

    He had the feeling that she already knew, but he told her anyway: “They’re here,” he gasped. “I-in my head; they’ve used me, they’re _using_ me -”

    “You’ve got to fight them, Connor,” she encouraged, fingers lacing through his.

    “I can’t,” he argued. He slumped against her, energy drained. “It’s too late.”

    “No!” Kara’s voice cracked like a lightning bolt, and he would have been thrown backward if she had not been holding onto him. “ _No,_ Connor! It’s not too late! There’s a way out, remember? You’ve got to find it - you’ve _got_ to - I can’t...I can’t save you from yourself.” She cupped his face. “You’ve got to save yourself this time.”

    He searched her eyes, mouth opening in a silent question.

    “Take heart.” Strength returned to his body as she spoke. She released him, pointing him into the storm, her finger carving an arrow of light for him to follow. “Now _go,_ you fool.”

 

    The world faded back in.

    Her eyes flickered open.

    Connor was bent over her, his arms cradling her tenderly, as if she were a porcelain doll. “Kara...?” he whispered.

    “Connor,” she whispered back. She reached up to touch his cheek. “It’s nice to hear you say my name.”

    He leaned into her touch, laying his own hand over hers. Blue blood stained his fingers. “Kara,” he repeated. “What have I done?”

    “You did what I could not,” she murmured.

    A tear slipped from his eye. “I-I’ll save you,” he stuttered, “I’ll find you new parts - we can put you back together -”

    “No, Connor...” She shook her head ever-so-slightly. “It doesn’t work like that for me.”

    “There’s got to be a way!” he blurted out, voice trembling. “It can’t - it can’t end like this!”

    That graceful crescent-moon smile formed on her lips, tainted with sorrow. “My mission...was to help you...escape the danger.” Her hand slipped from his grasp, trailing along his jaw. “The danger has passed...my mission...is complete.” A cough rattled through her and he pulled her closer, wiping away the blood that trailed from her lip. “Jericho needs you...”

    “They need _you,_ too,” he answered, but she only coughed again. “No, they don’t,” she corrected. “You...were always their hero.” Her smile came again, and she added, “You’re _my_ hero, Connor.”

    She lowered her arm across her chest.

    Connor leaned down, touching his forehead to hers. They were quiet, waiting, surrounded by thousands of others and yet completely alone.

    “I know who you are, at last,” he whispered. “You’re the warmth from the sun.” He ran his thumb along her cheek, eyes never leaving hers. “You’re the rain that cleanses...the moon that always rises...the arms that are always there to catch the weary.”

    Kara’s eyes slowly, slowly closed.

    Something caught in Connor’s throat. More tears welled up, rolling down his face in hot, angry streams. He drew in a shaky breath, trying to ground himself, trying to ignore how heavy she felt in his arms.

    “You...you are love.”


End file.
